Panasonic TX-58DX700 Review - Sound and Conclusions Review

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Panasonic TX-58DX700 – Sound Quality

The TX-58DX700’s slim form doesn’t stop it delivering a surprisingly potent sound performance. Its speakers can hit pretty high volumes without succumbing to distortion. Soundtrack detailing is precise and vivid, and the mid-range is open and expansive enough to handle action scenes without voices sounding overwhelmed or trebles sounding excessively harsh.

Other Things to Consider

Keen gamers will be interested to know that the I measured the TX-58DX700’s input lag – the time it takes to render picture data received at its inputs – at an average of around 30ms when using the TV in its Game picture mode. This is a decent figure overall – although, unusually, my measurements recorded considerable fluctuations in the input lag, ranging from as low as 10ms to as high as 69ms.Related: Best TV

Should you buy a Panasonic TX-58DX700?

There’s plenty to like about the TX-58DX700. It looks pretty, it sounds good, its smart TV system is exceptionally easy to use and sensibly focused, and there are times when its pictures look decent too. It even delivers a surprisingly strong sense of the thrills associated with HDR.

However, it doesn’t show off HDR as extravagantly as more expensive sets such as the Samsung UE55KS9000 and Sony 65XD9305, or Panasonic’s own step-up DX750 series. More alarmingly, it struggles – even more than those rival TVs – to control its lighting well enough to make HDR truly engaging to watch, raising questions of whether HDR should be left to high-end TVs, at least for now.

The TX-58DX700 fares better as a standard dynamic range TV. However, even here there are issues – potentially caused by its bid to deliver HDR – that make me think a good non-HDR set for around the same price, such as the 60-inch Samsung 60JU6800 available online for around £1,150, may be a better bet.

Verdict

The TX-58DX700’s HDR issues mean that it’s best thought of as a fair-to-middling SDR TV only – something that makes its initially aggressive-looking price look less attractive when you consider the SDR quality offered by some similarly priced non-HDR TVs on the market.